Global climate talks to be held in Copenhagen got a big boost over the weekend when leaders representing a third of the planet’s population put their full weight behind sealing a deal.
The heads of government of the 53-nation Commonwealth announced on Saturday that a legally binding climate accord was “essential” and they backed the Dec. 7 to Dec. 18 Copenhagen negotiations called to draft a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol.
The Commonwealth Climate Change Declaration, issued mid-way through a three-day summit in Trinidad, also hailed moves promoted by Britain and France to establish a US$10 billion fund to help offset the cost to poor countries that cut carbon output.
That financing offer, combined with greenhouse gas emission cuts announced over the past two weeks by most of the world’s biggest polluting nations, prompted leaders to swap skepticism for optimism.
“I remain fully convinced that it will be possible to reach an agreement in Copenhagen,” Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, who will host the talks, said in Trinidad, where he was a special guest.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he believed there was momentum for a deal, but he cautioned that it was not yet certain that a treaty would emerge from Copenhagen.
“We are united in purpose, we are not yet united in action,” he said, urging world leaders “to stay focused, stay committed and come to Copenhagen.”
“We, as the Commonwealth, representing one-third of the world’s population, believe the time for action on climate change has come,” Australian Prime Minister Rudd said as he unveiled the Commonwealth agreement.
“We believe the political goodwill and resolve exists to secure a comprehensive agreement at Copenhagen,” he said.
China, the US, the EU and Brazil have all announced greenhouse gas emission reduction targets designed to contain the level of global warming. India remains the only big polluter still to declare its target, though Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised on Saturday it would be unveiled soon and would be “ambitious.”
For all the political determination and talk of consensus, however, there were several points of contention at the Commonweath meeting that could prove divisive in Copenhagen.
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